The indictment of former FBI director James Comey and the process that led up to it is one of the most alarming and authoritarian acts of President Trump’s second term in office, which has been chock full of dictator-like behavior. Trump demanded the resignation of a prosecutor who would not file charges against Comey. Less than a week later, the new chief prosecutor in Northern Virginia did indict Comey, who Trump has long wanted to punish for investigating ties between the president and the Russian government during the president’s first term. What’s so striking about Trump’s actions is how brazenly and openly he breaks with democratic norms, such as a president not demanding investigations of his political rivals. As University of California Berkeley political scientist Jake Grumbach explains in the latest edition of Right Now With Perry Bacon, Trump’s aides often concoct more nuanced explanations for their anti-democratic actions, only then to have the president declare his real intentions publicly, either on social media and/or in interviews. Grumbach argues that the Comey prosecution is the latest example of Trump going even beyond the extremism of authoritarian leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. In Grumbach’s view, Trump is targeting people like Jimmy Kimmel and Comey (and universities like Harvard) in part because they are very prominent and well-known. Grumbach also discussed his research questioning the value of Democratic politicians moving to the right on key issues, as many centrists in the party are urging. You can watch this episode here.
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